Hollywood gets into THE SPIRIT

Classic comic book character slated for a film

By Patrick Sauriol     August 23, 2004

One of comics' most celebrated action heroes is getting his shot at Hollywood. The film rights to Will Eisner's two-fisted masked detective, better known as THE SPIRIT, have been optioned by Odd Lot Entertainment (Gigi Pritzker and Deborah Del Prete's company)) in partnership with Batfilm Productions (which is owned by BATMAN producer Michael Uslan.) The trio will develop and produce a SPIRIT movie, with Benjamin Melniker and Steve Maier aboard as executive producers.

Eisner created the blue fedora wearing character in 1939, back in the golden age of the superheroes. The Spirit started off as a backup in the pages of a comic strip publication but his popularity soon became evident to the point that the book was retitled after the character. Throughout the '40s and the '50s The Spirit battled crime in Capital City using just his fists and his brains, keeping his adventures grounded in crime fiction and pulp adventure. In the '70s and '80s the old Spirit stories were reprinted, bringing Eisner a new measure of fame even while he was busy coming up with the idea for what were to be eventually known as graphic novels. Today the artist's name is celebrated every year at the world's biggest comic book celebration, Comic-Con International at San Diego, where the Eisner Awards are handed out to the top comic book creators.

Commenting on the movie deal, Eisner had this to say: "I'm pleased to see that a film adaptation of THE SPIRIT will be produced by so experienced a creative team as Michael, Deborah and Gigi. This is an important event in the history of the comic book character, with which I have been closely identified."


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